Station Map

Harbor Crane

The gantry slewing crane, utilized for the loading and discharging of ships along the pier, was built in 1985 by the Krupp-Ardelt GmbH in Wilhelmshaven. It has a load capacity of 5,000 kg, its boom is 25 meters long.The last operator of the crane was a company based in Nordham. After this company relocated its domicile, Horst Werner, captain and ship owner from Elsfleth, acquired the crane with the aim of maintaining it as an industrial monument. In 2012, Lower Saxony´s Office for the Preservation of Monuments recognized the economic, historic and technical significance of the object and listed it officially as a cultural monument. [More]

Maritime Museum - Haus Elsfleth

In 1890, the physician and health official Dr. Christian Ludwig Steenken (1857-1933) commissioned the construction of this Villa. Steenken was closely interconnected with the maritime economy. Indeed, Steenken was a bank director and the head of a maritime shipping line. Additionally, he was the president of the Elsfleth Herring Fishing Society and of the Elsfleth Ship and Shippers´ Society “Concordia”, predecessor of the Nautical Union of Lower Saxony. In 2005, Horst Werner, captain and ship owner from Elsfleth, purchased the beautiful landmark structure, a prime example of the Oldenburg gabled house. He donated it to the “Wesermarsch Civic Trust” with the requirement that it serve as a museum. Since 2010, the “Villa Steenken” is one of the three locations of the Maritime Museum of the Oldenburgian Lower Weser. [More]

Lock

The floodgate lock of Brake connects the sea harbor – the Stromkajen – to the inland harbor. In the past, this very point served as the entry into the “Braksiel”, which was utilized as a protected moorage for small vessels, prior to its subsequent use as an expanded harbor basin. Already as early as the beginning of the 19th century, the space for mooring was extraordinarily limited, given that the ships of the Imperial Navy overwintered here. On the 29th of October 1861, the first ship passed through the floodgate in Brake. In 1980, the facility was modernized to serve as a chamber lock independent of the tides and with the ability to protect against storm surges. [More]

Duckdalben

The term „Duckdalben “refers to mooring dolphins for ships in harbors, and these non-swimming dolphins are rammed into the ground and arranged in groups of three. Duke Peter Friedrich Ludwig von Oldenburg (1755-1829) commissioned the first „Duckdalben“ along the Weser waterway parallel to Brake, offering the numerous ships a chance to tie up along the pier. In 1790, as many as 138 vessels made use of the dolphins. Indeed, these dolphins served as the basis for the subsequent upturn in maritime traffic and cargo handling in Brake, with the expansion of the harbor amd the Stromkaje following in the wake of these developments. This museum exhibit showing significant traces of usage is an example of such a dolphin, and it is often an object in artistic presentations. [More]

Brake Harbor

The modern, multi-functional special ship harbor Brake with the international call sign DEBKE has been operated by the Lower Saxony Ports GmbH & Co. KG since 2005. The owner ist he State of Lower Saxony. Ships coming from the North sea and having drafts slightly exceeding twelve meters can reach Brake´s Stromkajen which has a length of 2.5 kilometers. A railway connection and modern truck terminals provide for an ideal traffic infrsstructure. In particular, bulk products such as grain, animal feed, sulphur, minerals and wood products, but also iron ore and project / heavy lift goods are handled in Brake. The imposing silos of the company J. Müller, founded 1821, have been part of the harbor ambience of Brake for a long time. [More]